View full sizeLisa DeJong, Plain Dealer file photoVan Monroe is shown hand-painting a shoe in his home studio in 2008. In the four years since he began creating one-of-a-kind shoes, he has gained the notice of Hollywood film companies.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Van Monroe continues to paint on sneakers, and Hollywood has taken notice.

The 29-year-old Cleveland artist, who gained international fame in 2008 after painting a pair of white Nike shoes with an image of then-presidential candidate Barack Obama, created about 30 one-of-a-kind shoes at the request of film company 20th Century Fox to help market the animated film "Ice Age: Continental Drift," which was released this week.

This is the third major film project in recent years that he has helped to market through his artwork. Monroe also painted shoes for actors in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" and put his brush to work on sneakers that were a part of the late Michael Jackson's "This Is It."

Besides doing work for movies, the artist created a large mural over the winter on East 83rd Street in Cleveland's Fairfax neighborhood.

For "Ice Age," "I didn't see the movie before I painted the shoes, so I had to research the previous films and go with the little bit that they told me," Monroe said. "It was a challenge for me as an artist, but it made it more exciting."

Monroe said painting the shoes took him nearly three months. He made specialty shoes for main stars Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary and Queen Latifah that were based on their characters. Some of the actors and film executives asked him to paint additional shoes.

Monroe attended the film's premiere in New York City this week, and he said actors in the project complimented his work. He said he was able to meet Leguizamo and Romano.

On Wednesday, his work was also showcased to a national audience.

While Queen Latifah was interviewed on the talk show "The View," she presented a pair of his custom shoes as a gift to co-host Joy Behar, who also is featured in the film.

"I've been getting calls and emails all day about that," Monroe said Wednesday. "It is really a blessing."

Monroe also painted nearly two dozen pairs that were given to other actors, musical artists and celebrities heard in the film, including Jennifer Lopez, Nicki Minaj, Drake and KeKe Palmer. He also made a pair of shoes for talk show host Ellen DeGeneres.

"All of this has been an honor, really," Monroe said. "Some of these people have been sharing their art with me for years, whether they are rappers or entertainers, and here I am able to share my art with them.

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